What's That In Your Hand?

By Scott Coner
Country Artist

            So, at 80 years old, Moses is having a discussion with God. He is trying to convince God to use someone else.

            “I have other plans. I don’t talk well. People don’t listen to me. I’m too old.”

            To be honest, I wish I had the type of a relationship with God to actually have an open conversation like that. But God, being God, already had all of the answers. He told Moses to throw his staff to the ground. When he did, the staff turned into a snake. God told him to pick it up by the tale, and when he did, it turned back into a staff. 

            I believe most of us are a bit like old Moses. We have spent most of our lives being something that God can’t use. He wants us to change, but in order to truly transform, we are going to have to step out of our comfort zones a little bit.

I've recorded a cover of the classic rock tune "Locomotion"...

Let's get moving... Use your talents!

            I had spent the first half of my life doing what came natural to me. Construction had always been my primary involvement. I had moved away from the field and into the office side of things several years ago. I had a good job, I made great money, and I was comfortable. The problem was, this is not what my heart was called to do. It’s awfully hard to be content when you know you aren’t doing what you are called to do. I began to move more in the general direction of my purpose though, and I began to finally feel more at peace and less at war with myself.

            I want to be clear in saying that even though I do certain songs promoting my faith as well as family and commitment, I am involved in a broad range of music. But, I believe God has plans for me. I don’t know what they are. I don’t care what they are. I will do what God will have me to do when He gives me direction, and I look forward to the opportunity. It is a good feeling to know that God is control and that I am just along for the ride.

 

Scott Coner with his dog (Photo by Cynnamae Productions)

 

            I wonder where you stand with your own direction these days. What are you holding in your hand? Is it a simple staff, or is it the gift of baking? Do you seem to feel at your best when surrounded by people? Do you have the gift of designing? Can you take a simple little house and turn it into a beautiful home? Are you gifted on the computer? What is that you are holding in your hand? We all have God-given gifts, talents that allow us to feel alive when we use them. Maybe it’s time that you finally admit that you do have a skill that could and should be used. You might also want to remind yourself of the happiness and fulfillment that your gift actually gives you when you allow it to be brought to life.

            I am no preacher, but I am a believer. I believe that if we take a step in faith, God will be there to meet us and to support us. I think that taking these steps also has a way of strengthening our relationship with God. All I can tell you is that so far, my music has brought a lot of surprises to me. I have met some great and talented people. I have seen cities and towns I never would have been able to see. I have also been able to go to places in my mind through the process of writing that I wouldn’t have pursued had it not been for the opportunities to write and record with others.

            I am positive as you read this you have already let your mind jump once or twice to that shady little corner in your soul where you keep your talent. I hope you will get off your couch and just go for it. Nobody is asking you to part the Red Sea or pick up a snake. Just dust off your talent, and offer it up. Let it become part of you again. You never know where you will end up or what you might find. And aren’t you glad that God didn’t give you ultra small hands so you could be good at milking wild badgers? 

            Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

The Wall

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

            It’s a "sight on earth" how self-made plans have a way of changing on their own. I arrived in Nashville hoping to be a songwriter. I felt that my songs were different than most. And even though I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing, I kind of used it as my calling card. One of the first guys I hired turned out to be quite a bit less than what he promised. I made the mistake of judging the book by its cover, and man was that a money and time waster. I, being the hayseed that I am, figured that since his name came to the top of the list if you googled his service, he must be a pretty good choice. He was middle aged, he had extremely nice suits, and he drove some of the finest sports cars I had ever seen. What could go wrong here? Well, to be honest, not much went right, but I finally stepped free of his storytelling and moved on.

            There have been several of those types of people since him -- The kind of people that tell you one thing, but do absolutely nothing but drive to the bank with your money as soon as you leave town. It’s heartbreaking really. It hurts you all over as you begin realizing that you have been ripped off again and again all in the name of music. I think these people may have started as honest as the next guy, but for whatever reason, they begin to realize that it is easier to steal from the innocent than actually do the right thing. I suspect they begin their Darth Vader type of existence because they don’t carry enough clout with the bigger players. So, if they are going to survive in Nashville, it will have to be on the take. 

My song/video "Nashville Song" was inspired by my experiences on Music Row. 

            I was one of the lucky ones. I watched the table pretty closely as the cards were dealt, and put a timer on each play. If the promises made didn’t begin to show some color within my own private allocated time, they were either put on notice or fired on the spot. The sorry truth about this type of approach is you can’t help but become cynical. You begin to question almost everything and everyone. You don’t realize it, but you begin to build a wall. And like the song says, all in all, you're just another brick in the wall.

            Before I found myself completely entombed with my self-constructed wall of sound, I began to seek a different type of clarification. I began considering other avenues, a whole new route to take. The first thing I began doing was wondering if maybe I could actually write and sing my own songs. I started taking a handful at a time into Nashville, and I decided I was going to take off where I quit several years ago. Things kind of started to get a little bit of traction, and a whole new concept was born. However, like about everything else on this planet, I still had more than my share of problems. Once again, my biggest problem was the crooks. They are thick like bluegill in a farm pond. No matter where you throw your line, they either steal the worm, or you land a fish half the size of a biscuit. The obvious decision was to begin using the white-collared criminals as bait. I began dropping their names everywhere I went. And like a miracle, they began to swim back to the safety of the shallow water because they were becoming exposed. Kind of like a cockroach, but the bug actually has a lot more class. 

 Scott Coner visits the Ryman Auditorium (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            The music kept on coming. Before long, we were truly storming several studios bringing in all kinds of talent. Musicians are kind of like ball players. The best players really like playing and hanging out with each other. So as things began to gel, clarity began to take hold. I moved as quickly as possible, and continue to do so. Instead of trying to make a big splash around Nashville or shopping for a deal, I simply focused on writing, networking and recording whenever possible. My wife, Cynthia, and I worked hard at developing social networks, videos, songs and everything that a label is supposed to do for you. One day, I began taking note of all the songs that had been recorded and written, and I was taken back by the sheer volume. We had recorded years of releases. So instead of slowing down, we are speeding up even more. My plan is to shelf another album this summer, followed by another album in the fall. We will begin traveling everywhere early 2017 and then we might find time to rest. But then again, I wouldn’t mind booking studios around the country and see what that’s like. In the midst of this, I have also been working on a few books. Yes, I know what your thinking. Why does this guy think we want to hear his songs or for that matter read his books? I have no answer for you. I just got a little bit ticked off at the establishment in Nashville and decided to do what I came to do without their help. Like most things I do, it will probably end in a fiery crash, but the noise might be worth listening to. I just didn’t want to be another brick….

         Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

My Journey Into Music… So Far (Part One)

By Scott Coner

Country Artist

(Following is the first of a series of blog articles offering my experiences as a singer-songwriter and performing artist in country, Americana and Southern Rock.)

            The music business isn’t a refined science. There are many ways to get somewhere in this business, and to be honest, they have all eluded me. My approach has been consistency. Simply forging ahead even when there didn’t seem to be any hope has been my policy. It is funny how things begin to take shape if you can remain standing though. You begin to notice that behind each curtain there was a purpose of some type. What may have appeared to be a waste of time and money might have turned out to be a stepping-stone.

            I have spent my private life involved in some type of construction for the most part. I have worked for contractors, but mostly I have run my own show. I found out pretty early that I had a knack for estimating and managing work. I seemed to excel at putting a job together along with a scope and timeline that would not only meet the clients needs and expectations, but it would also make a reasonable profit for everyone involved. The most important part of this type of work though is to have open conversation with a team that communicates well with others, as well as with me. As in most things in this world, it is always important to surround yourself with honest and competent people.

            I have approached the music pretty much the same way I have approached construction. I knew, and I think most of us know, that the whole process starts with a song. Now, I am a singer-songwriter with a specific skill set, so I felt that putting together a great team early on was probably the most important first ingredient. This team needed to work around any of my weaknesses. Then we could analyze and finalize where we needed to go from there. I wanted a group of players, along with an engineer who understood where I was coming from musically. I didn’t want a group of session players showing up for three hours at a studio, knocking out three songs, and calling things done. I began working with an engineer that was from a different musical background than me, but who understood where I wanted to go and how I wanted the songs to sound. For instance, I wanted very big sounding drums, so I would need to record in a room with tall ceilings with an outstanding drummer. (I have always used Kenny Aarnoff as my example as far as a drummer goes.)

            I didn’t want too much of the “sugary” type background singers in my mix, so I do a lot of my own backing vocals and I also work with Marcia Ramirez as often as possible. (In my opinion, she is one of the finest vocalists I have ever known.)  Marcia understands the importance of dialect and the layering of vocals. She is willing to “over-sing” her parts throughout a song, bringing all sorts of ideas I hadn’t taken into consideration for the final mix. We do the same thing with different guitar hooks, textures, pedals, bass lines, and whatever else. Then, we put together a “rough” mix to live with for a few weeks. After listening to the “ruff”, we meet to begin the final mix.

Scott Coner with acclaimed singer Marcia Ramirez (Photo by Cynnamae Media Productions)

            Early on, I had a friend back in Indiana helping lay some of my songs down using a Pro Tools application. This approach worked, but it also had its limitations simply because it had a tendency to close certain doors for future performance and production ideas. I have also used a BR-1600 to record on, but this was almost as limiting. What I do now is play the song on video using a loop for guitar if I have lead arrangements and send the file to my engineer/producer. I will usually discuss Ideas right there on the video either before or immediately after the song, and then we proceed from there.

            Okay, so that is a simplified version of how I work on my songs. You probably have a better and more advanced approach, but I have to keep things kind of simple. I’m a pretty simple guy. So, let’s assume you already have a large bag of hit songs written and recorded. What would be your next step? Well, to me, the next step was pretty obvious. I needed to launch a social media campaign. I needed to reach out into the world and let people know about what it is that I do, and why and how I do it. I didn’t understand how all of that works, and I still don’t, so I hired a publicist. A publicist is a pretty big part of the puzzle from here on out, so I suggest that you try your best to locate someone that you like and trust. After all, you are about to give that person access to your entire library of music, photos and thoughts.  You might want to look at their current and more recent clients. Check out their “brand”. Did the publicist do a solid job representing that artist or band? Do the colors, the fonts, the press, and photos work well with who and what is being represented? Could you see any type of growth or other transformation? Can you afford this service at this time? Do you have enough material put together that would allow for this to take place now? Or do you need to get back into the trenches and maybe get some video work and photos done, then see where you stand? I think the most important step is to be willing to take your time. Don’t rush things.

            I already had photos and some video work started, so I felt that the time was right for me to get started developing some media attention. I had already written one book and was in the process of completing another. I had 30 or 40 songs in the can, and I had already experienced some success overseas on their charts and had some radio play in the U.S. We got started with some pretty dismal numbers at first, but we worked together and discussed how we planned to attack each quarter of the year, and built up some pretty nice numbers. I found out that I truly enjoyed writing blog articles and Facebook and Twitter entries. I also began to develop a very personal involvement with the folks that were following my music. I could see their families, their likes and dislikes right there on my computer. It began to look like maybe we could get some wind under our wings. We needed to take another step.

            Managers seem to be effective only if you have more than you can find time to manage on your own. Through recent years, I have tried a few, and although they were nice people, I can’t tell you that they got anything of value done. Especially when you consider the cost factor. So, my next step had to be a deliberate one that was willing to take risks and put my cards on the table. I hired a music attorney. This person is knowledgeable in all facets of the industry, and they can be very effective in getting certain doors open when the time is right. An attorney will probably only take you on if he or she like and believes in the music. They need to see you have spent ample time on development of your brand. And finally, they need to feel like they can take the fruits of your labor and develop some type of deal.

            Remember, everything we are going over here has to be in your own time. You may need to take baby steps. You might even need to get a second job in order to save up the money to get this done because it is an expensive start-up. But if it is in your heart, you really don’t have much of a choice. You just have to figure out how to get things done within your own budget and timetable. I have always said there are people that play golf; others are season ticket holders for sports teams; and some drive fancy cars. I am like none of those people. I am a songwriter. These songs are important to me. Sound is important to me. It is where my passion is.

            I am aware that this is an incredibly thin overview of what I have done and how I have done it. But, if it is in your heart, you will find a way. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the people you meet along the way, and allow yourself to grow from all of the new experiences that the world of music has to offer. I can only tell you from my own experience that it has been a fun and exciting trip so far. In this world, most everyone is a little bit different. They see things more colorfully and challenge me in ways that I had never before considered. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with some pretty amazing and talented people, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I am certain your trip will be pretty special in its own way.

            Scott Coner is a country singer-songwriter who has worked in the studio with legendary artists such as Tanya Tucker, T. Graham Brown and Charlie Daniels. You can learn more about him and hear his music at www.Facebook.com/ScottConerMusic, www.YouTube.com/user/ScottConer, and www.ScottConer.com. Follow Scott at www.Twitter.com/ScottConer.

(Stay tuned for part two of "My Journey Into Music... So Far".)